Two men and a woman have been arrested for allegedly robbing and hijacking a truck loaded with rice in Ijebu-Ode area.
The suspects were said to have committed the crime with a toy gun and stole a total of 203 bags of rice valued at N2,024, 000.00.
The suspects also took away a bag containing N50,000 cash belonging to the victim, Izah Ekene, as well as his ATM card.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the incident in a statement yesterday, said the suspects were arrested on January 11.
He identified the male suspects as 26-year-old Lekan Animashaun and Omotayo Sogo, 34 while the woman in custody is 48-year-old Olayemi Kehinde.
Oyeyemi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, explained that the robbery victim hired the truck to convey the rice to Kwale in Delta State but was robbed on getting to Ijebu-Ode.
He said, “The three suspects were arrested on the 9th of January following a complaint by one Izah Ekene of No. 6 Mabogunde Street, Oju Ore, Ota who reported at Igbeba Division that he hired a truck to convey 203 bags of rice valued at N2.024 million to Kwale in Delta State.
“But on getting to Ijebu-Ode, the truck driver and Lekan Animasaun brought out a gun, pointed it at him and pushed him out of the truck and diverted the rice to an unknown destination.
“They equally took away his bag containing the sum of N50,000 and ATM card. Upon the report, the DPO Igbeba Division, CSP Adebiyi Ademola, detailed his anti-robbery men to go after the hoodlums.
“Their efforts paid off on the 11th of January when the duo of Lekan Animasaun and Sogo Omotayo were apprehended through technical intelligence. Their arrest led to the arrest of the receiver, Olayemi Kehinde, and the recovery of the truck.”
The PPRO stated that the bag containing the victim’s ATM card, a sum of N19,000 and the toy gun with which the suspects robbed were recovered by policemen.
He said the Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to Federal Anti-Robbery Squad for discreet investigation and prosecution.
